(The list series formerly known as “The Events That Defined New York Skateboarding in 20__”)

If you started reading our award-winning skateboard website in 2014, we should inform you that every December, we turn the mundane into the fantastic by counting down the moments that shaped skateboarding in this fine city throughout the past twelve months. They are listed in rough order of importance, depending on how you define the word “important.” A fun way to reminisce for those who were there, and a way to get informed for those who were not. Enjoy ;)

We begin our year-end countdown with where we began last year: skate deterrents. Where would we be if not for those who try to stop us?

We’re accustomed to having buckets of water poured on us by people who live above diamond-plate skate spots, or eggs thrown at us by kids out of project windows. Hell, in Barcelona, we saw someone throw bleach from a window on a drunk crowd of skateboarders outside a bar. But this fall, after becoming an accidental neighbor with Chinatown’s latest bank spot, a restaurant poured kitchen grease all over the obstacle of interest, which — short of maybe smearing shit all over a spot — is the most hateful skate deterrent of all time, especially in less-detectable low light.

If you have ever stood on a subway platform staring at the countdown clock, the thought has come to mind: “Could someone hypothetically ollie over the tracks?” In theory, if Jeremy Wray did that water tower ollie, it’d have to be possible. Then you’d consider the additional curve-in, the timing, the train, the bust, and eventually, the third rail, which stands to give anyone who touches it an unpleasant departure from earth in the event of a worst case scenario.

The speculation ended this year, as Koki Loaiza ollied from platform to platform at the 145th Street A station…going towards the third rail and earning press from media outlets farbeyondskateboarding’stypicalreach.

QS shirts have been spotted in some odd locations: “Holi Thirteen” by Brandon Kuzma. (P.S. If you’re still trying to get an early order in, e-mail quartersnacks [at] gmail, though quantities remain limited. Otherwise, our webstore will re-open in June with new product. Supreme New York and Exit Skateshop in Philadelphia also have them in stock.)

The new Cliché video, Bon Voyage, is out on iTunes today, and most shops have the DVD in stock. The video is what you expect (though a bit less European given some recent roster additions), including a solid part from every grown-up’s favorite skateboarder, Lucas Puig. The line he does at Pulaski Park is likely the best line you’ll see all year (seeing pros just do a simple, not-Torey-Pudwills-long backside tailslide on a ledge is awesome, especially in 2013.) Also, “Best Line of 2012” title holder, Pete Eldridge, continues to skate with cigarettes and has a solid shared part with J.B. Gillet. If anyone at Cliché is interested in producing an American rap re-edit of Puig’s part, we’re all ears.